


Where My Demons Hide (EV)

by Srtawalker



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: BAMF Alec Lightwood, M/M, Parabatai Bond, Prince of Hell Magnus Bane
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-07
Updated: 2018-03-11
Packaged: 2019-03-01 17:29:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13299720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Srtawalker/pseuds/Srtawalker
Summary: Magnus has been dragged to Edom, where his father has been waiting for him for years.Alec, accompanied by Jace, will not hesitate to enter Hell to rescue him; but it might be too late and Magnus may no longer be the same.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Where My Demons Hide](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13235316) by [Srtawalker](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Srtawalker/pseuds/Srtawalker). 



> This fanfic has been in my head for months, months!  
> I've finally put the whole story together and I think I'm ready to tell it. First of all, I want to thank all my readers, especially those who leave me comments that make me continue writing.  
> This is located after 2x20. I want to finish it before they release the new season. There is part of canon from books but mostly all is my imagination. I know that something like this will never happen in the series, that's why I write it. I hope you like it.  
> As always this is a translation, English is not my native language.

When they realized the reason for the presence of the Edomai it was too late. Their faces of surprise at seeing the mythical being leave behind the shadows and approaching Jonathan were almost a grimace of horror. Even so, everyone was too busy to notice that Magnus’s face was the most modified of all for the fear. Lilith spoke to them, smiling like a mother to her baby, and they tried to approach her, attack her, but everything was useless. It was not until later that they understood Lilith's true motive in revealing her presence, the reason that she had become visible at that precise moment.

Everyone thought that Jace and Clary were in danger, that they would be Jonathan´s target, but Lilith had been waiting for too many years and was not going to let anything stand between her and the promise she made to Asmodeus all those decades ago. It was not until later, after a more than uneven battle, when the portal opened and Lilith sent them flying with a simple blow to the back of the cave, when they understood. Lilith's other hand grasped Magnus's hands, binding them with magic and preventing him from defending himself. It was then that Alec realized that they had been mistaken. Lilith was not after her parabatai and Clary, but the warlock. Alec tried to get up, to take his bow, which had fallen a few meters from him, and shoot Lilith, trying to free his boyfriend, but couldn’t, because demons began to come out of the shadows and he felt the blow that Jonathan had given Jace, blinding him in pain for a moment. He could do nothing but see how Magnus was pushed into the abyss, his golden eyes fixed on him, the last thing Alec saw before the flames engulfed him.

***

Alec woke up with Magnus' eyes still in his mind. He breathed a couple of times and reclined on the bed, running his hand through his hair and noticing the sweat. He didn’t need to turn on the bedside light to look for his cell phone and see the time, because the sun's rays barely entered through the window of his room. He had slept longer than he had intended but he didn’t feel more rested for that reason. He went to the shower and let the water run and breathed, letting that feeling of emptiness and impotence fill him like every morning, letting his body process the pain he felt and letting it go when he turned off the shower. He couldn’t feel, he must have a cool head and controlled emotions if he was going to get Magnus back. After all, he was a shadowhunter with a mission. Perhaps the most important of his life.

He left his room and went to Operations, controlling the activity and missions of the day. Once everything was under control and he had assigned the daily missions he went to his office and closed the door. He dialled Imogen's number and waited for Imogen to answer.

'Any problem?'

'No.' Alec answered in his business voice. 'We continue to search for Jonathan and control the demonic activity.'

'All right. So, what is the purpose of your call, Mr. Lightwood? '

'I would like to request a few days off. Jace and Isabelle would be in charge until my return.’

‘Reason?’

‘Personal.’ Alec didn’t need to add more, nor did he have any intention.

It hasn’t taken long for the news of Magnus's kidnapping to speed through the Shadow World. Although it had only been three days ago, the disappearance of the High Warlock of Brooklyn had been important enough for the warlock community to begin to consider a new representative. Alec had refused to have a say in such conversations or to answer with anything other than "Magnus will return."

The first day, he felt devastated, looking for ways to bring him back, to rescue him. Unfortunately, Alec didn’t have the privilege of being able to worry about Magnus alone. He had an Institute to control and defend, especially now that the Edomai had reappeared and attacked with all their might, knowing that their magical defences would not hold much. Alec, after a few minutes in which it had been difficult to accept the reality that he couldn’t go after Magnus and rescue him like this, had agreed with Catarina that the warlock would investigate a way to open the portal and let him know when it was ready. Alec knew that the call couldn’t take much longer, it was a matter of hours. The activity had decreased in those two days, the Institute was more or less under control and Alec didn’t intend to waste another minute. The others had accepted that Magnus was gone, because no one came back from Edom, and no one, no one, has ever gone and returned, as Alec planned of doing. But Alec was used to doing things that technically couldn’t be done, and this time was not going to be any different.

‘Mr. Lightwood. I understand that you are affected by recent events, but it is not the time to take a vacation.'

"Being affected" didn’t even begin to encompass the hell that Alec was living. In another moment the young man would have liked to remind Imogen that the "recent events" were the kidnapping and almost sure death sentence of his boyfriend, but that didn’t help his mission.

‘It’s in my contract to be able to request vacations if I’m subjected to a lot of pressure and I think that a time of rest will help the functioning of the Institute and my functions.’ Alec's voice impassive, not letting even the slightest emotion show.

Image sighed and Alec could see how she began to lose patience on the other side of the phone.

‘Besides, Jace would be in charge.’ Alec knew that Jace in command would be a disaster, but he also knew the weak point of the Inquisitor.

'Take two days to rest.' She finally said. 'I want to speak with you on the third in the afternoon after your shift is over.'

'Thanks.' Alec said and hung up. He sent the request and waited to see how it was accepted on the server by Imogen before getting up and heading to the weapons room.

On the way, his phone rang and he picked it up, seeing that it was Catarina.

'Do you have a way?’

'Yes.' Her voice tired, the nights without sleep beginning to show. 'I can open the portal, but once you get through I won’t be able to bring you back. I haven’t found a way for you to come back.'

'But can you open it?' Since that was all Alec wanted at that moment, although he was going to need a way to leave Edom sooner rather than later.

'Alec, you can’t go without knowing how you are going to return. Magnus... '

'Magnus could open the portal from the other side, right?'

'Technically yes, following the pentagram. But Alec, if you find Magnus and he's... I doubt he would have the energy to open it.'

'I will give him mine,' he said without hesitation, his steps becoming more certain, a plan taking shape in his mind.

'Alec...'

'Prepare everything. I'll be there in an hour.’ And he hung up, because he didn’t need another talk from Magnus's friend warning him of the danger. He was not a fool, he knew he was going on a suicide mission, he knew that the chances of returning were tiny, but he also knew that the words he had said to Magnus weeks ago were true. He couldn’t live without him.

‘Alec!’

His sister's voice made him stop. Isabelle soon came to him and looked at him with those eyes of sorrow and concern that Alec hated so much. Magnus was not dead, no matter how much everyone had decided to think he was.

'Izzy, I need you to call Jace. I have to talk to both of you. '

'What's going on?'

'Go to the weapons room.' He said and continued walking.

'Alec!' Isabelle shouted again, but Alec didn’t stop.

***

'Alec, what's wrong?' Jace said.

'I'm going away for a couple of days,' said Alec, taking the holster from his sword and tying it to his leg. 'I need you to be in command of the Institute until my return.'

'What?' They both asked with a surprised face.

'Imogen knows that I will be absent two days and has agreed to leave Jace in charge. Hopefully, I'll be back for the third day. '

Jace didn’t know what was happening, but for three days he had not known what was happening with Alec in general. Their bond was a torrent of emotions in one moment and cold as ice the next.

'Alec, tell me you're not going to do what I think you're going to do,' Isabelle said, realizing the situation. Alec looked at her and it was all the confirmation she needed. 'It's crazy, Alec. You cannot save him.'

'What?' Jace began to understand. ‘Are you going after Magnus? Alec, you can’t. '

Alec took the dagger and put it in the holster on his leg, covering it with his boot.

'If I don’t come back I left a note explaining that you didn’t know.' He was going to take the quiver when Jace's hand stopped him in his tracks.

'Alec, it's suicide.' Jace's eyes fixed on his and they both felt their bond begin to vibrate as if an electric current had ignited. 'I know it's hard, but you have to accept reality.' Jace tried to be careful with his next words as he could feel how Alec was about to explode. 'Magnus won’t come back.'

There were a few seconds of silence where Jace could see how that current did nothing but grow until the blow stopped. Alec breathed and cut the bond, controlling his emotions.

‘When you've been in danger, on numerous occasions, Magnus has risked his life to save you.’ His words were cold, trying to contain the anger he felt. 'When Valentine called Raziel, he went in your search instead of running away. That was suicide for him. Entering the Institute knowing that Valentine was going to activate the sword was a suicide for him.’ Alec's words less and less controlled, coming out from between his clenched teeth, trying not to get all those screaming desires that had been in him since he saw Magnus' eyes for the last time. 'You're right, Magnus will not come back, not on his own. But I'm going to bring him back or I'm going to die trying, and there's nothing you can tell me that's going to change that.'

Jace had to step back because of the intensity of the situation. He had never seen Alec like that and he knew that he had never felt what he had felt from his side of the bond. Alec removed Jace's hand and picked up his quiver full of arrows.

'Izzy, I leave you in charge of the Institute. Make sure everything is under control. I trust that you will do the best for our people. '

'Alec, I'm going with you,' said Isabelle, for she had understood that there was nothing that could prevent her brother from going to Edom and she was not going to leave him alone.

‘No. You must stay and protect the Institute. '

‘I’m not gonna stay here while you go to your death.' There were tears in her eyes that she was fighting to control.

'I'll be back.' Alec said leaving the bow and approaching his sister, his voice softer. 'I will return.'

'You don’t know that,' said Isabelle.

Alec caught her face and wiped her tears. 'I promise,' he said in a voice full of affection. 'And I've never broken a promise.'

Isabelle nodded and smiled slightly. 'I want to go with you.'

'I need you here,' said Alec. 'Nobody should know where I am. Can do it? For me?'

Isabelle wanted to scream, she wanted to make him see that her place was at his side, as always, but she couldn’t, because Alec was not only asking her for a favour, he was entrusting her with what he valued most outside of his family.

‘You better come back the third day or I’ll go to Edom myself to bring you by the ears.' She said trying to brighten up the situation.

Alec hugged her and kissed her head.

'You can’t agree with this,' Jace said to Isabelle, her silence showing him that he was, so he turned to his brother. 'It's crazy, Alec.'

Alec separated himself from Izzy and looked at Jace. There was so much he wanted to tell him, so many things that he had kept quiet all those years and especially all those months. There was a lot he wanted to talk with his parabatai, with whom used to be his best friend, the one he had thought was his soulmate. But he didn’t have the privilege of time, because every minute he spent on earth was a minute that Magnus spent in Edom.

'Take care, Jace. And take care of our family.’ He said hugging him tightly and separating after a while. He took the bow and headed for the door, leaving his siblings behind.

***

Alec tried not to remember the last time he had opened those doors, with Magnus grabbing him by the waist and kissing him on the neck as he lowered his wards. It was strange to be in the loft without him, the space was the same but different, as if he didn’t know it anymore. Alec soon reached the part of the house dedicated to Magnus’s magic and saw Catarina on the floor finishing a laborious pentagram. The warlock didn’t stop even though Alec knew she had noticed his presence.

'You should prepare. I left you food in the kitchen,’ Catarina said while painting.

Alec turned around and went to the kitchen, seeing the provisions that the woman had left him, he soon put them in the backpack he was carrying along with a few bottles of water. It was not much, just enough to survive two days, because more would delay him and the food was more for Magnus than for him. Alec could always activate runes to survive but he didn’t know if he and Magnus would be able to escape immediately or if they would have to hide until the warlock regained his energy. Alec stuffed the last bag of dried meat and closed the bag. It wasn’t the steak that Magnus liked so much, but it would have to do.

It was when he was about to take out his arrows and draw runes on them when he heard the door. It didn’t take long for him to see Jace at his side, entering the kitchen with eyes of extreme concern.

'There's nothing you're going to say to stop me from going,' Alec said looking at Jace seriously before picking up another arrow.

'I know.' Jace stepped forward, entering the kitchen but not approaching the table where he was sitting. 'That's why I'm going with you.'

Alec left the arrow on the table. 'No.' There was no room for dialogue in his voice.

'You cannot go alone.' Jace took another step, approaching Alec as one would approach a cornered animal.

'You can’t come. You said it yourself, it's suicide.' Alec got up, trying to make Jace see that it was crazy, because he planned to risk his life if necessary, but not Jace's. 'It's not your problem, you don’t have to...'

'Entreat me not to leave thee, or return from following after thee. For whither thou goest, I will go, and where thou lodgest, I will lodge.’ Jace recited the verses he knew by heart, stopping Alec, getting his brother to listen to him.

'Alec, I haven’t been a good parabatai in recent months, especially in recent weeks, there are... There’re many things that I want to talk about, of which...' Jace breathed and reorganized his thoughts, for now was not the time. 'What I want to say is that if you go, I go.'

'Jace, you don’t have to. You are not obligated to anything, you don’t owe me anything.'

'You're wrong, Alec. I owe you everything.’ Jace wanted to say more, but didn’t know where to start, how to explain to Alec how much it meant to him and how blind he had been to take for granted the unconditional love of his parabatai. It had been thanks to Valentine's death when he had realized how much their bond had changed, and he was not going to let it go away little by little. Alec was one of the few people for whom Jace would give everything, and if it was necessary to go to Hell he would.

‘It’s ready,’ said Catarina, interrupting the conversation. 'Alec, are you sure?'

Alec didn’t stop looking at Jace, watching as he nodded, and Alec nodded.

'We are ready.'

 


	2. Chapter 2

They soon realized the portal had worked. Everything around them was clayey earth, as if it had been stained with blood. The atmosphere was suffocating, the sky in a continuous reddish sunset. Some trees were distinguished in the distance, but what Alec saw first was the creatures, undoubtedly Edomai, who were flying towards them.

'Jace!' He screamed as he searched for somewhere to take shelter. Luckily a small cave was nearby and Alec ran to it, followed by his parabatai. He did not think that maybe there could be even more dangerous creatures inside. The Edomai flew by a short time and luckily they went on. Maybe his presence had gone unnoticed.

‘What’s the plan?’ Jace asked, pulling out the witchlight and seeing if there was anything else in the cave.

'Find Magnus,' said Alec, seeing if there were more demons lurking.

'How?' Jace asked, letting the white light illuminate his face. 'We don’t know where he can be.'

Alec put the paper that Catarina had given him with the pentagram back in the bag and took out some documents, showing Jace some drawings and what looked like a map.

'If anything of all this is true,' he said, sitting on the floor and showing Jace the papers. 'He should be in the castle. It is located near a lake where the sun always reflects. '

The papers were ancient manuscripts, no doubt taken illegally from the Library, followed by a drawing representing the castle to which Alec referred.

'What makes you think he's in the castle? He could be wandering anywhere. '

‘No. He’s in the castle. I'm sure.'

Jace could see how Alec did not want to say more, and in any other situation he would have let it go, but not now, not when he had followed him into Hell.

'Alec, you have to tell me what you know.'

Alec sighed, looking toward the back of the cave, thinking about how to tell Jace something he had promised Magnus never to tell. But it was a life or death situation, and Jace deserved to know.

'The castle belongs to Asmodeus.' He said looking at Jace and pointing to the map, he nodded. 'Most likely Magnus is a prisoner in that castle.'

'Why? Lilith could have sent him anywhere. '

'Because he's his father,' Alec said, drawing part of the frustration he felt at not being able to keep the promise. He saw Jace's surprised face and wanted to return to the mission as soon as possible. 'Most likely, he’s there.'

'Since when do you know?'

Alec didn’t look at him, he just picked up the documents and put them back inside, but not before looking at the map again. ‘A while ago.’ He wasn’t going to tell Jace how Magnus had told him with eyes full of fear at the rejection, prepared to be the straw that would make the Nephilim left without looking back.

Alec got up but Jace stopped him by grabbing his arm.

'Alec, are you aware that makes him a Prince of Hell?'

‘It doesn’t make him anything.’ Alec's voice strong, without leaving any room for doubt. 'Are you coming or not?' He said knowing that Jace couldn’t do anything but follow him.

Jace nodded, feeling that it was not the time to talk about it, but knowing that sooner or later they would have to face reality, especially now that they were in the realm of Magnus's father.

***

Magnus opened his eyes and stayed completely motionless, knowing that the slightest movement could alert the guards who were on the other side of the door. He noticed how the handcuffs blocked his magic, noticing how it revealed itself by wanting to destroy, wanting to be the vehicle of his anger, but the cold magic metal prevented it. He knew what his father was doing, what he was trying to achieve, but he was going to fight to the end to contain that innate desire in him, that darkness that always struggled to come out. Normally, Magnus would deal with that excess of magic by performing daily tasks, leaving it free to help others, channeling it into something good, or simply redecorating his apartment or traveling to Italy for a cappuccino. But he had not let it go for days, days when his anger, fear, and pain invaded his whole being, and he feared the moment when it would finally be freed, he feared what that magic could do, what he could become. His only consolation was knowing that no loved one was close to get hurt.

He could not help but think of Alexander, his hazel eyes, his smile, the rune of his neck. He missed him and it hurt to know that the young man would spend a few difficult months with his loss, for although he didn’t doubt the words he had told him after Valentine's death, he knew that sooner or later Alec would learn to live without him.

He heard footsteps on the other side of the door and knew that his father was nearby. He hadn’t seen him since he had arrived, when he had imprisoned him in that tower, but something inside him knew it. He would have been afraid before, but now all he had left was anger; anger for the life he had stolen, anger for what he was doing, for how he was manipulating his magic, transforming it into something dark, something that Magnus had been avoiding for years. He didn’t know the reason that Asmodeus could have for it, but he knew that whatever it was he didn’t want to be part of it.

***

It took a day to see the castle in the distance, both tired, covered in ash and acid. Demon blood stained part of his clothes. They had tried to go unnoticed, but it was impossible to move without anyone seeing them. Luckily they had reached the other side of the lake and the castle was more or less as it appeared in Alec’s drawings. Although bigger, much bigger. And the lake was darker, with strange creatures swimming in it.

'We're going to have to go around him,' said Jace, knowing that swimming was not an option.

Alec let his shoulders fall, relaxing them before tightening them again. He nodded and got on his way, watching demons fly over the tallest tower.

'Alec, we need a plan,' said Jace at his side.

'The plan is to enter, find him and escape without being seen.' Alec replied.

'Alec.' Jace stopped him by touching his arm and waited for his brother to turn to continue. 'You know it's not going to be that easy. We don’t know what awaits us inside. '

'I know.' Alec nodded. 'But what do you want me to tell you?'

Jace sighed and looked around. There was a large tree not far away where they could shelter for a while from the hot sun. He started walking in that direction and Alec followed him.

'We have to come up with a plan before we go in.' He said sitting in the shade and waiting for Alec to do the same.

Alec imitated him, knowing that a break would be good for them and that a plan would be necessary.

'There are only two options,' said Jace. 'Either he's in the tower or in the dungeons.'

'I would say the tower.' Alec said looking at the castle. 'There is more presence of demons.'

'That complicates the situation for us.' Jace put his hand to his hair and removed it from his face. 'Okay, let's see, what do we know about Asmodeus?'

Alec looked at him, making it clear that it was not a topic he wanted to talk about.

'We're going to have to face him sooner or later.' Jace said a little exasperated. 'It's better to have all the information.'

'Well, apart from being a Greater Demon,' said Alec, trying to remember everything he had studied throughout his life and in the last days ‘He’s a Prince of Hell. He rules Edom. He was one of Lucifer's generals, which makes him a Fallen Angel.'

'An angel,' Jace growled, for it was just what he had hoped it would not be. His relationship with angels, fallen or not, was not the best in the world. 'That means he’s invincible.'

‘He is for us,' said Alec. 'At least in his kingdom. If it were on earth we could destroy his corporeal form as I did with Azazel. But here there is nothing we can do here. '

'So the mission is stealth.'

'Yes.' Alec said. 'We go in, we find Magnus and we leave.’

'It will not be that easy.'

'I know.'

'What makes you think Magnus is still alive?' Jace could not help saying what he had been thinking for hours.

'I know.' For Alec knew that if Magnus had died something inside him would have died too. They were not joined by a rune or a sacred bond, but he knew it. Magnus was alive. 'Also, something tells me that Asmodeus wants him alive.'

'Why?'

'I don’t know.' Alec replied. 'But it's something Magnus said. He mentioned that his father had always wanted to get in touch, that whenever he had had the opportunity he had tried to talk to him. '

Jace nodded, trying to get the information that his parabatai’s boyfriend was the descendant of Asmodeus not distract him. 'Okay, so we go in, we look for him and we get out,' Jace said, Alec nodded.

***

'You know you could be much more.' Asmodeus' voice was soft but charged with something dangerous. Strolling in front of Magnus. Knowing that the chains that trapped his son were indestructible, that nothing but his magic could release him.

'No, thanks.' Magnus said, because even in Hell he was not going to give up having the last word.

'I've never understood your obsession with mortals.' Asmodeus followed as if he had not been interrupted, snapping his fingers and sitting in front of his son in a wooden chair. 'At first I thought it would only last a couple of years. If I have to be honest I thought you would only last a couple of years, but you've always been so stubborn.'

Magnus looked at him with anger in his eyes, now at the same level.

'I must admit that I am proud.' Asmodeus smiled and Magnus could see his sharp teeth and feel those words stir his stomach. ‘Of all my children, none has shown as much talent as you.’ The Fallen Angel raised his hand and stroked Magnus' face, knowing that Magnus could not move. 'The others were predictable, mere objects to carry out my plan, but you...' Magnus felt the caress hurt, as if it burned his face. 'There's so much of me in you that it's amazing how my blood has not shattered your human part.'

Asmodeus separated from him, rising suddenly and causing the chair to disappear. Magnus sighed as he felt the heat disappear from his face. He looked at his father, wondering if he was finally going to tell him what he was doing there once and for all, but Asmodeus was looking out the tower window, a thin smile on his lips.

'What do you want from me?' His voice rasped at the lack of water, the lack of sleep.

Asmodeus did not stop smiling when he turned and looked at him with those eyes so similar to his. 'I want you to join me.' There was no amusement in his voice, just honesty. 'I want you to take the place that belongs to you as my heir and help me carry out my plan.'

'What plan?' Well, if Magnus managed to get out of there he would need to know what he was up against.

Asmodeus' smile grew. 'All in due time,' he said, pulling away from the window and heading for the door. 'Enjoy the visit,' he said before leaving, and Magnus did not know what he meant. He noticed how the little strength he had left him and dropped his weight, causing the chains hanging from the ceiling to hold him, stretching his arms and causing a new pain to appear on his back.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Breaking into the castle was too easy. There was something telling Alec that it was a trap, because it was impossible that Asmodeus didn’t know of their presence. Jace could feel the same, because he was more in tune with his parabatai than he had been in recent months, but he knew there was nothing they could do.

Alec pointed to the stairs and got closer to the wall, making a sign to Jace and this one pulling out the dagger, ready to kill the servant coming towards them. It was not until the blood ran through Jace's hands that they realized he was a warlock and not a demon. Alec thought for a moment if that person was another prisoner, forced to live there, but couldn’t afford a moral debate. Magnus needed him and he would do whatever it was necessary to get to him.

When they climbed the stairs they only found a pair of animal-shaped demons, resembling dogs but with eyes full of blood, something they had never seen before, guarding the door of what was undoubtedly Magnus's prison. Alec looked at Jace and they had that non-verbal communication in which they decided the attack plan. Alec drew an arrow while Jace took one of his small daggers ready to throw it to one of the two demons. They attacked in synchrony, weakening the beasts and killing them in a short time, luckily without attracting much attention. Alec sighed, placing his bow on his back and looking at the wooden and iron door in front of him. He looked at Jace and Jace nodded, sword in hand, ready to cover his back if necessary.

Alec thought for a moment that he needed a key, there was no way that everything was so easy, that they had had such good luck, because he knew that he had never been blessed by the angels, and they were in Edom, literally in Hell, which looked more like one of the bad neighbourhoods of New York than the image they had always instilled in him.

He put his hand on the doorknob, knowing that if it was a trap, if he had to die, he would do it, because he was not going to give up, and he was surprised to realize that it was not closed. That was all the evidence he needed to know that Asmodeus knew of their presence, that something very bad was about to happen, but he couldn’t spend more time on that thought because on the other side of the door, suspended by chains that hung from the high ceiling, Magnus was prisoner. Alec ran to him, holding his face with infinite affection and not paying attention at the makeup slightly run, to the ruffled hair, to the torn shirt, but looking at his eyes, his beautiful golden eyes looking at him as if it were an illusion.

‘Magnus.’ It was more a sigh than an affirmation but enough for Magnus to understand that it was real.

Magnus moved and looked around, noticing Jace and how he stood at the door, making sure no one else was coming. Alec could see how he was beginning to understand the situation and he repeated his name again.

'You cannot be here.' Magnus said looking into Alec's eyes. 'You cannot be real.' His voice filled with despair.

'Magnus, we came to save you.' Alec answered trying to calm him down, looking for a way to free him from the chains, but he didn’t see a lock.

'No... Alexander...'

'Jace. Help me with the chains,' said Alec, knowing he couldn’t spend more time convincing Magnus that he was real. He didn’t know what kind of torture Asmodeus had used on him, but what he knew was they had to leave the castle as soon as possible.

Jace looked at the chains but saw no way to open them. He thought of the rune that Clary had drawn on the Angel but didn’t know if it would work or not, or if he remembered it. He tried to cut the chains with his sword but it didn’t work.

By the time Magnus heard the sound of the sword against the chains he had already realized that Alec was not a mental game of his father, that he was really there trying to rescue him; Alec, who had gone to Hell to look for him, thinking that he could take him back to earth. Which his innocence and need to protect his loved ones had led him to what would undoubtedly be his death.

 _"Enjoy the visit,"_ his father had said. It was then when he realized that everything was part of his plan, that without Magnus knowing very well how or why, Asmodeus knew that Alec was there to rescue him, and the fact that he was doing it worried and terrified him more than everything he had lived in the last days.

'Alexander, listen,' he said, trying to get the attention of his boyfriend, who was looking for a way to free him from the chains. He waited for him to look at him to continue. 'You cannot free me.'

'Of course I can Magnus. I just have to find the way.'

‘No. Alec, listen, you must not free me.'

That was when Alec stopped and came back to face him, looking worried. Behind him, Jace was painting several runes on the floor, trying to remember what Clary had painted weeks ago.

‘Chains have been holding my magic for days, trying to modify it. You must not free me from them, I don’t know what would happen.'

'I don’t fear your magic,' Alec said, believing he understood what Magnus was trying to say.

'I do.' There was anguish in Magnus' voice, an emotion that Alec had never associated with the warlock before. 'There's so much you don’t know about it, Alec, so much that I didn’t tell you...' Magnus moved his back trying to relieve some of the pain he felt.

Alec took his face firmly but gently at the same time and looked into his eyes in the same way he always looked at him when he had something important to tell him and he wanted Magnus to understand.

'You would never hurt me.'

Magnus wanted to believe him, he wanted to think that his magic belonged to him, that he recognized Alec and wanted to protect him and love him like the rest of his being, but he knew there was something dark in it, something he had never managed to tame, something that made it want to destroy, that asked for chaos and death, something that appeared in occasional moments, like when he killed his stepfather, something that Magnus had spent centuries holding back, trapping inside him, trying to never see the light of day, because he feared what that part of him would do if freed, he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to control it, that he would succumb to his most demonic part and never be him again.

There was much that he had not told Alec, much that he had not had time to confess, much that he didn’t want to confess, but he felt that the moment had arrived, that in one way or another Alec was going to realize what he was really capable of, of the monster he was, and Magnus knew he would not be able to live if he hurt Alec.

He closed his eyes, because he couldn’t see the love and security that there was in Alec's, the absolute certainty, the blind faith in him. He wanted to answer, but couldn’t, because he felt something envelop them and the next moment they were in his father's throne room, sitting on his side on the black throne with red and yellow stones. His clothes were the same, elegant and worthy of a Prince of Hell, showing that before being a demon he had been an Angel. His crown of thorns that did not harm him, with a dark stone but full of light in the center of his forehead. His black wings touched the ground, slightly open, absorbing the light of the room and making it impossible not to recognize his true nature.

Alec turned around and looked at Asmodeus for the first time in his life. He could not help but feel fear. One thing was to face a Greater Demon on earth, where only part of its form existed and where it could be eliminated as he had done with Azazel, but it was another thing to see one in the flesh and blood, to see everything he had studied, everything he had read fell short of the image of the Fallen Angel in front of him. Nothing could have prepared him for the blackness of his wings, the power of his presence, the sense of helplessness he felt before him. But he didn’t want to show fear, he didn’t want to be weak, he had a mission and he knew that sooner or later he was going to have to face Magnus' father. It was then that he understood, when something in him turned on and he understood the way Jace had looked at him when he learned of Magnus's provenance, how Magnus had looked at him before telling him who his father was. To him they had only been words, nothing that changed who Magnus was, nothing that defined him, but now, seeing in flesh and blood Magnus's father, seeing how his eyes were so similar to the eyes that he loved, seeing his wings, his power, his throne, it was then that Alec began to understand that he didn’t really know how powerful Magnus was.

'I'm impressed,' said Asmodeus, looking at them and settling himself better on the throne, his wings shrinking slightly behind his back. 'I do not remember the last time a Nephilim visited my kingdom. And here I am with two.' Asmodeus looked at Alec and then at Jace, who had placed himself behind Alec, feeling the need to protect him. Less impressed than his brother in the presence of the Greater Demon but equally terrified.

Asmodeus turned his eyes to Alec and smiled slightly. 'I must admit that this was not part of the plan, but it is no less welcome.'

'Let them go.' Magnus said, his voice safe, he could not show vulnerability, not now. 'They have nothing to do with all this.' He moved his hands trying to get close to him, noticing how the chains did not hang from the ceiling but were now tied to the ground.

'No, they do not.' His father replied. 'But they may be just what I needed.' He moved, rising gracefully from the throne, descending as he spoke the few steps to the ground. 'You've taken a liking to this one, have you not?’ He said raising his hand and lifting Alec up without him being able to do anything to prevent it. Jace wanted to grab his brother, but with a wave of his hand Asmodeus threw him across the room and made a cage surrounding him. Jace hit the bars and shouted the name of his parabatai, watching helplessly as Asmodeus approached him little by little, immobilizing him and leaving him suspended in the air.

'It's not what I would have imagined for you, but you've always had a very peculiar taste.' Asmodeus continued as if nothing had happened.

'He has nothing to do with it,' Magnus said again. He was trying to keep his mind cold, not to be carried away by fear and the urge to beg his father to free Alec, because none of that would help him. He had to find something that Asmodeus wanted more than to kill the two Nephilim and absorb their energy. He knew there was only one option and closed his eyes for a moment, saying goodbye to his life and his freedom.

'If you let them go, I'll stay here.' Magnus said in a firm voice.

'Magnus, no!' Alec yelled helplessly, noticing how doing so something pressed his lungs and made it difficult for him to breathe.

'If you let them go safe and sound, if you return them to earth, I'll stay here and join you,' said Magnus, trying to get his father to let Alec out, let him breathe.

Asmodeus looked at his son, seeing how low he had fallen, how much love he felt for that weak creature, someone who would not live more than a couple of decades at most. How was it possible that he cared so much, that he was willing to accept what he had refused a few hours ago?

'Tempting,' he said looking at his son and knowing that what he was going to do was necessary, that he could not allow Magnus to continue having feelings that would only cloud his mind and make it impossible for him to see the image he had for the future. ‘But I have a better idea.’ He released Alec, freeing him of his magic and letting him fall to the ground, and Alec wasted no time returning to Magnus's side. 'Free you,' he said with a smile.

He saw how Magnus’s eyes changed, as there was despair and fear in them, as he begged him not to and Asmodeus knew it was the right thing to do. If he had to be honest, he had never meant to let the two Nephilim leave alive, especially when such a great occasion had come up to him to show his son once and for all what he was really capable of.

He snapped his fingers and the chains and handcuffs disappeared, causing Magnus to fall to his knees on the floor, trying to contain a scream of pain as he could feel all that accumulated magic returning to his body, as it entered his veins, filling him with energy, as it mixed with that darkness that had only grown and grown since he had come to Edom, making it impossible to control it, knowing that once it traveled throughout his body it would fight to get out, destroying everything in its path. He knew he wasn’t going to be able to contain it or focus it. He felt magic flowing through his veins, making them shine under his skin, and he felt his brain speed up, knowing that he only had a few seconds left.

'Run.' He told Alec, looking at him and knowing that it was very likely to be for the last time, but not losing hope that the young man would listen to him and use his runes to get out of there.

He didn’t know what Alec answered or if he ignored him because the magic reached his brain and every part of his anatomy, the darkness taking the reins of it, causing Magnus not to be able to control his own body, and he felt how everything became black and there was only one desire inside him: to destroy.

TBC…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the comments! This is for you guys!


	4. Chapter 4

He had always known that he was more powerful than the common warlock. Magic had been something innate in him, always within reach. No one had educated him, no one had bothered to spend a couple of years teaching him how to do a spell or potion, what was good and what was wrong, what was dangerous for him and what was for others. It had not been until years into adulthood when he had met Ragnor, the only person who had spent time showing him how things should be done, but by then Magnus had learned most of them by himself, because life had not left him another option.

“Your magic,” Ragnor said with worry one afternoon when he was trying to teach him how to make a magic shield, something Magnus had learned in an intrinsic way but had never managed to conjure at will “is very powerful for someone so young.”

“I'm not that young,” said Magnus, who was close to eighty by then.

“Believe me.” Ragnor's tone somber but with a certain affection. “You are.”

Magnus didn’t want to give it more importance, feeling good about himself, thinking he was lucky. It was not until a couple of months later, after numeral classes with his new friend, that he brought up the subject again.

“It's very strange. There's no reason for someone so young to be able to conjure spells like you do. In the best case, it takes decades of training and study.” He said one afternoon as they drank tea, a drink Magnus had longed for in recent years.

“Maybe the rest are very stupid,” Magnus said, but Ragnor looked at him curiously and dropped the subject, knowing that was not the case.

It was not until years later when Magnus realized that it was not the others, it was him. There was something different about him, something that did nothing but grow and leave a strange feeling every time he destroyed something with magic, as if asking for more. It was then that he began to investigate, without saying anything to his two new best friends, but wanting to make sure. He had learned how warlocks were born, but he had never wanted to question how he was born, who was the being who had raped his mother without her knowing it. He was afraid that it was one of those monsters, demons, that occasionally attacked the mundanes; because he didn’t know if he would be able to accept that he was part of that, that the words of his stepfather and mother had been true. He didn’t need the definitive proof that he was a monster.

But not knowing ate him inside and one day he did it, he conjured the demon that had given him his life, hoping it was not the biggest mistake he had ever made, praying that it was something not very bad. It was strange, because summoning demons had always been easy for him, something innate as Ragnor had said, but it cost him all his energy, the house moving as if it were an earthquake, a sense of fear and ice running down his back.

It was not until the candles came back to light when he saw those two golden eyes that he knew so well, because they were a reflection of his own. Nothing could have prepared him for that. It was then that he knew that those racists of Shadowhunters had some truth in their beliefs. Angels existed and, consequently, Fallen Angels.

“What is your name?” Said the handsome man in the middle of the pentagram. His skin was tanned like his, though a little lighter, his features perfect, his hair black as a raven's wing, his eyes fixed on him, his pupils slightly dilated.

“Magnus.” He replied unintentionally.

“Magnus,” the man repeated, but in his mouth, it sounded like something else, something different that Magnus could not identify.

“Do you know who I am?” He said taking a step but without leaving the elaborate pentagram.

Magnus shook his head.

“My name is Asmodeus.”

By then Magnus had a slight idea of who Asmodeus was. Although he had never been interested in the stories of Angels and Demons, he had read the name once in Ragnor's books and knew that he was not any common demon.

“What do you want of me?”

Magnus didn’t know what to say, he hadn’t expected something like that.

“I just wanted to know where I came from.”

It was then that Asmodeus looked down and noticed the pentagram drawings. A small smile appeared on his lips and Magnus was afraid.

“You have summoned me with your blood,” said Asmodeus, looking back at Magnus with something new in his eyes. He nodded. “You are one of my children.” The demon continued, but it was not a question, but an affirmation. A phrase that would change Magnus forever.

***

He wanted to destroy. He wanted to feel that energy that for so many years he had repressed running through his veins. He wanted to let that fire that was in him, that bond he felt with Edom, run free, burning everything in its path. He wanted to feel free for the first time in his life, to feel how far he could go, how much he could destroy, the things he could do without having to worry about the people around him, what was right or wrong. He wanted to be himself for once in his life. Without ties, without rules, without morals.

He didn’t notice how his clothes changed; his shirt transformed into a closed leather vest covered in thin armor. His forearms protected by silver armbands, his black pants, slightly wide at the top and sticking to his legs in the calf. His shoes thin but sturdy, letting him move at will. It was the clothes of a warrior, worthy of the son of a Prince of Hell.

Nobody noticed that change because at the same time the magic came out of Magnus, destroying the crystals of the throne room and all the ornaments that were there; attacking his father, who defended himself without problems, and throwing Alec a few meters away from him against the wall with a strength and speed that would have killed him if it were not for the thin shield of blue magic that stopped his impact.

But Magnus didn’t know that his magic had protected Alec, just as he didn’t know he had changed, he only knew that he had released that part of him that had been locked up for centuries and didn’t intend to go back, not now. He looked at his father, who had a proud smile on his face, and couldn’t think of anything else but to tear it to pieces. He stood up, with more energy than he could possibly have, noticing how he was being filled with energy as he drained the life force of the creatures in Edom, and looked at his father.

“I knew that sooner or later you would arrive.” He said, but Magnus didn’t waste time and conjured the magic that was in him, savoring the feeling of it through his veins and leaving it free, attacking his father, who protected himself but couldn’t avoid the impact, falling against the stairs of the throne.

Magnus needed weapons, he needed something physical to hurt him with, and that was when he noticed how something metallic appeared in his hands. They were two karambit, larger than what was traditional, but that fitted perfectly in his fingers. The metal was adamas, with runes engraved on the edge but not celestial. No, this was a weapon from Hell. He remembered at that moment that he had read how every Angel had a weapon assigned by God, the reason that every Shadowhunter had a weapon as his favorite. In the case of the Angels, they were celestial weapons, linked to their being. Magnus would never have thought that something like that was possible, that he would be able to call or create such weapons, but there was no doubt that they belonged to him. He could feel it. After all, he had learned to use them when he was very young to help his mother on the field.

He moved instinctively, knowing what to do, how to reach him, where to hit and where to tear; knowing that he was going to die trying but not for that reason he was going to stop trying. Asmodeus got up with a blow of wings, calling his two tantōs and stopping the direct blow to his jugular.

***

Alec heard Jace's scream before he felt the impact of magic. Everything happened very quickly and at the same time very slowly. He saw a rush of red and black energy separate him from Magnus, throwing him against the wall, and he thought that it was his end. But something stopped the impact, something familiar, and he fell to the ground with a sharp but safe blow. He had to close his eyes and cover his head because he felt all the crystals fall on him, filling the room with color. When the attack ended he moved, letting the crystals and bits of wall fall, and he looked forward, seeing Magnus rise up surrounded by magic, his clothes different, his being completely different. It was not the Magnus he knew, the person he had fallen in love with, but a different being. His face hard and with only one goal in mind, his magic different, dark and hot. Alec saw two small daggers appear in Magnus's hands and knew at that moment that they were heavenly weapons forged in Hell.

He felt a strong pain in his side and that prevented him from thinking about what he was seeing, who Magnus really was. He looked for Jace and saw him inside the cage trying to get up with a cut on his forehead. He ran to him, kneeling by his side and looking for a way to get him out of there. He heard the sound of metal against metal and turned around, seeing how Magnus was fighting against Asmodeus; his lethal movements accurate, gaining ground but never hurting.

“Alec,” Jace said trying to focus his eyesight. Alec took out the sword and tried to break the bars, but he couldn’t do it. He put it away again and looked for his stele, drawing rune after rune, melting the bars after a few seconds of tension. He pulled Jace out and pulled him to him, hugging his brother and letting Jace rest his head between his neck and shoulder.

He looked back at Magnus, who had been thrown against one of the walls, Asmodeus going to meet him flying and Magnus wasn’t slow to get up and stop the attack with his magic, which now had a black tint, like small veins that ran through the energy strips he threw. Aldertree's words rang in his head: "That's his nature," but he refused to believe it. He refused to accept that he had lost his boyfriend, who was undoubtedly the love of his life. It was true, Magnus was different, maybe out of control, more demon than human, more mythological creature than a person, but he had to believe that...

“Alec, are you hurt?” Jace asked, coming back to his senses after Alec activated his healing rune.

“No,” Alec replied, and that was when he realized. He was not hurt. He should've been dead, or at least like Jace, but he was fine. He opened his eyes and looked back at Magnus, knowing that yes, Aldertree had been right when he had said that in a moment of crisis everything Downwolder showed their true nature. Magnus had shown him: to protect. It was as if he had taken an ice cold shower. He realized that Magnus was not fighting because he was out of control, but because he was protecting them. That was his nature, one that now was buried under the power of black magic and a murderous look, but which was the main engine of the warlock.

“Jace. Can you fight?”

“What?” Jace said looking at Alec in amazement. “Alec, we have to get out of here.”

They both noticed how the building was moving, no doubt produced by the clash of magic between Asmodeus and Magnus.

“We have to help Magnus.” He tried to stand up and look for his bow, which was a few meters away from him on the ground.

Jace looked at him, unable to believe what his parabatai was saying. There was no way to help Magnus, since he was no longer the person they knew, he was sure of that. Jace had to let Alec know that they must escape, find a warlock who would open the portal back to Earth and get out alive while Asmodeus was busy fighting his son.

But Alec was with the quiver on his back and an arrow ready to launch and that was when Jace could feel the determination in Alec, the certainty, the calm before a battle. There was a strange peace in their bond and Jace let that calm him down. He thought it was madness, certain death, but he approached Alec and drew his two swords, ready to defend his parabatai until the end.

TBC…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the comments that give me life and make me want to spend my free time writing and translating this.


	5. Chapter 5

The arrow flew, piercing one of Asmodeus' wings, and it let out a small moan of pain. Both he and Magnus turned to see where the arrow was coming from, and that was when Magnus remembered Alexander.

The young man was a few meters away from them, near the main door, which was closed, preparing the bow to launch another arrow. Asmodeus moved his hand to throw a magic ball at Alec, which would surely kill him, and Magnus ran and stood in the middle, stopping it with his magic but feeling the pain in his bones.

“Run,” he said without looking back, knowing that Alec and Jace were safe.

It was seeing Alec and feeling as if he had put out his head out of the water after holding his breath for too long. He had remembered the reason for the fight with his father, and he had realized that he couldn’t keep fighting. He had to get Alec and Jace out of Edom, he had to find a way to return them to earth. For although he knew that he couldn’t return, not after feeling the magic and energy of Edom, of absorbing his powers and feeling more than ever before, he must return Alec.

He didn’t want to think about the pain that separation would cause him, because it wasn’t the moment. His father raised his hand and everyone could hear hundreds of demons yelling, no doubt going to meet them. Magnus looked around, searching for an exit, moving the kerambits to make sure he could use them if necessary.

“There is no possible way out,” Asmodeus said in a calmer voice than the situation required.

A demon flew in and Alec didn’t take long to shoot it, seeing how instead of transforming into smoke the corpse fell to the ground. He placed another arrow and stared defiantly at Asmodeus.

“What will you do when you run out of them?” Asked the Fallen Angel.

“I have more weapons,” Alec replied defiantly.

The conversation was interrupted when they noticed the door open wide and about ten demons came running to meet the two Shadowhunters. Jace went into battle mode and Alec followed him, not stopping to look at Magnus, who had moved to approach Asmodeus. The Greater Demon stopped him before he could reach him, grabbing him by the neck and smacking him against the wall while he asphyxiated him.

“Is this really necessary?” He asked, letting out some anger for the first time.

Magnus moved his hands, trying to free himself, but Asmodeus moved his wings and raised them, using magic to make sure Magnus couldn’t move.

“You don’t realize there's no future for you if you go back.” Asmodeus hit him against the wall and Magnus could feel the pain running through his body.

“Is that all you want in life? To spend eternity taking care of insignificant mortals? To let all the power and talent that is innate in you be wasted?”

“Yes,” Magus replied with difficulty, for it was hard to talk. He tried to save his strength, knowing that he was only going to have a chance to get out of there. A plan had begun to form in his mind and he prayed to a deity he didn’t believe in for it to work.

“You can be much more and you know it,” Asmodeus replied, making clear the anger he felt was in his voice. “Of all my children you are the only one who has shown the talent necessary to be my heir. And what are you doing? Saying no.” He hit him again, knowing how much force he had to do to hurt him but not hurt him more than he needed to. He moved, letting Magnus see Alec fighting all the demons that came towards him, running out of arrows little by little.

“He's going to die and you know it,” said Asmodeus. “If it’s not here today, it will be another day on the battlefield. Or of old age. Like all Magnus.” Asmodeus looked at him again and Magnus could almost see an emotion in his eyes that wasn’t anger, as if he cared about him. “They don’t deserve your time.”

He released him, knowing that the fall would make him dizzy for a few seconds. He flew down to the ground and knelt in front of his son. More than once Lilith had asked him about his obsession with Magnus, because the woman hadn’t understood why he had left him alive, not being able to kill him and absorb his magic. Asmodeus had tried to explain to her on more than one occasion that Magnus was different, that he was not like the rest of his progeny. At first, he had thought it was entertaining to know about his son's adventures, but with time, as he became more and more powerful, and he felt something change in Edom, as if a hole had opened in the ground that nobody could close it. It was then that Asmodeus understood that Magnus was not another one, that his blood was stronger than of any other descendant of his, more pure and powerful.

Asmodeus had plans for Magnus and after seeing what he was becoming, who he really could be; after seeing his transformation, unequivocal proof that his blood was more angelic than human, he didn’t intend to waste the opportunity. He had let him play with mortals for a few hundred years, but now it was time to go home and be the son he was meant to be.

***

Magnus tried to regulate his breathing and concentrate on his magic, which felt strange, out of control. He brought his hands to the ground as he watched his father kneel before him and tried to feel the energy of the earth. There was something strange about Edom, something that called him, that asked him to be conquered. He pulled that feeling and noticed how that strange feeling of loss of control grew in him, how his consciousness began to fall asleep but his energy and power grew. He tried to concentrate and looked at Alec, realizing that he had no arrows left and was soon to be cornered by demons. He opened his magic and let it travel through the floor, reaching Jace and Alec and killing the demons around them. The two young men turned and looked at him with surprised eyes, but Magnus could only notice Alec, how handsome he was in action, how much he loved him, how much he was going to miss him.

He forced his body not to let himself be carried away by the power for a few more minutes and took advantage of the fact that his father turned to look at what he had just done to move his hands and create a portal that would take them to the gates of the castle. He pushed Jace and Alec and leaned back against the cold stone wall, knowing that they had a chance to escape.

“Why?” Asmodeus asked, rising from the ground and making a movement with his hand. The demons stopped and looked at him before taking flight or running away, no doubt in search of the Shadowhunters. “You know they will not get very far, it's prolonging the inevitable.”

Magnus got up trying not to get dizzy and looked at his father, who was putting the two daggers in his belt, making it clear that the fight was over, assuming he had won.

“I want you to reconsider my offer,” Magnus said trying to sound calm, knowing that fighting would not lead to anything, feeling more relaxed now that he had let his magic free, that he had embraced the darkness that was growing in him every second. He didn’t have much time left before losing himself. There was no escape, not for him. “Let them go. They will serve you as messengers and I will stay here in return.”

Asmodeus turned and looked at him in surprise, Magnus knew that the Fallen Angel felt how he was changing, how it was a matter of time. The magic of his hands didn’t calm down, running his fingers with red and black strips. Magnus picked up his two daggers and tucked them into the belt that had appeared at his waist.

“Fine,” said Asmodeus. “I will let them go with one condition.”

Magnus said nothing, waiting with a heavy heart and trying not to let him see it.

“May you be the one to send them back.”

Magnus opened his eyes. “You know I have no power for it.” For only a ruler of a kingdom of Hell could do such a thing.

“Of course you do,” said Asmodeus with a smile that showed that there was something Magnus didn’t know.

***

“No!” Alec yelled, trying to free himself from Jace's arms and wanting to return to the castle.

“Alec, we can’t go back!”

“Magnus!” Alec yelled, hoping his boyfriend would hear him, not wanting to remember the way he had looked at him before pushing them into the portal.

“Alec! We’ve to get out of here.” Jace said looking at the sky and seeing how many demons flew to meet them. Feeling Alec's pain and knowing there was nothing he could do.

Alec turned and hit him to free himself, taking advantage of the surprise in Jace and running towards the castle door, but stopped short when a giant demon stood a few meters away from him. He drew his sword and put himself in a defensive pose, waiting for the demon to attack, but it never did. Jace went to meet him, standing behind him.

“Alec, we’ve to get out of here,” he said for the tenth time, trying to make him see that it was the only option. The mission hadn’t gone as they had imagined but not for that reason Jace thought about not coming back alive.

“I don’t intend to go without Magnus,” Alec said without looking at him but with clear anger in his voice, his eyes fixed on the beast and the demons that landed on the ground, surrounding them but not attacking them.

“He’s no longer the Magnus we know, Alec.” For Jace was sure of that.

Aldertree's words came back to his mind and Alec shook his head. He knew that Magnus was different, he knew he had changed, but he refused to believe that he was no longer the man he was in love with.

The demons parted, leaving a clearing, but Alec didn’t lower the sword, watching as Asmodeus walked towards them. He only lowered it slightly when he saw that Magnus was after him, walking by his own will, trying not to look him in the eye. Asmodeus snapped his fingers and the demons walked back, leaving a large space between them.

“It seems you have eluded death one day more,” Asmodeus said in a jovial and somewhat happy voice that unnerved the two young men.

Jace looked at Alec but didn’t lower the two swords, Alec didn’t move either, looking at Magnus and expecting to see an answer in his eyes, but there was nothing. He noticed then the magic that came out of him, how it was becoming more black than red, how his eyes shone with more intensity than ever, his thin pupils, more like those of his father.

“It has been entertaining, I will not deny it, but it is time for you to return to your realm,” Asmodeus said and gestured with his hand pointing at Magnus.

Magnus walked a few steps and stood in front of Alec. For a moment the young man thought that Jace was right, that Magnus had changed forever, but it was having him in front of him, to look into his eyes and see how his pupils dilated, how his muscles relaxed, how behind that mask of indifference was the man he loved.

“Magnus,” said Alec, lowering his sword and bringing his hand to his face. But Magnus took a step back, fleeing the contact.

“I made a pact with him,” he said in that voice he put when he didn’t want anyone to know his true feelings. “He's going to let me bring you back to earth.”

“Us?” Alec's eyes were wide open. “Magnus, you´re not coming?”

Magnus shook his head. Alec looked at Asmodeus and saw that smile of satisfaction on his face that made his whole stomach twitch.

“I’m not leaving without you,” said Alec, turning his eyes to Magnus.

“Alec…”

“No.” He cut Magnus mid-sentence. “I’m not going back without you.”

“You have no other choice!” Magnus shouted, unable to contain the anger in him any longer. Rage towards his father, towards the situation, the feeling of helplessness, the unfairness of someone as good and loyal as Alec falling in love with someone like him. “If you stay here you will die.”

“Brother, listen to Magnus,” said Jace.

But Alec didn’t want to listen to reason. Since Magnus had left, he hadn’t been able to think clearly. It had been much worse than when they had... fought, because then he knew it had been Magnus' decision. But now... Now it was different. They had taken away what he most loved without him being able to do anything and he didn’t intend to return to a life without color, not after he had met Magnus, not after knowing that there was more to life than surviving.

Magnus left him and began to draw the pentagram, one similar to the one Alec had seen Catarina draw, and realized the seriousness of the situation. He realized at that moment that they could not get out of there by force, that they were all under the control of Asmodeus, in one way or another. He went to Magnus and took his arm, knowing he had to speak low, trying to convey his message with his hands.

“Magnus.” When he touched him he felt the magic and a strong pain in his fingers as well as relief. He let go without wanting to and that's when Magnus looked at him.

“I cannot go back,” he said with acceptance in his voice. “I’m not the same anymore.” He moved a little away from Alec, trying not to touch him, but Alec took his hands, not letting the pain he felt in doing so show on his face.

“Magnus.” He had so much that he wanted to say, so much that he wanted to make him see, but there was no time or the necessary privacy. “I understand,” he said aloud, knowing that this was his only option. He looked around, knowing that Asmodeus' eyes were locked on him. “Your home is here,” he said knowing he was heard, seeing the change in Magnus' eyes, the disbelief. He approached him, as if he were going to kiss him on the cheek, raising his hands and bringing them to his chest, feeling the magic entering him and hurting him while it healed him, and whispered quickly into his ear “with me.”

When he separated from Magnus he saw how his pupils changed, as there was something new in them. Alec nodded, trying to convey the message he wanted, praying to all the Angels for Magnus to listen, that he would have enough faith in him to listen to him. But Magnus' face didn’t change and Alec stepped away from him by clinging to that thread of hope.

He returned to Jace and waited for Magnus to trace the pentagram. He looked at Asmodeus and nodded in what he hoped was a sign of acceptance. Asmodeus smiled and Alec thanked all those years of repression, because they had given him the perfect mask. They placed themselves in the pentagram, Magnus said a few words in a language that Alec did not know, Asmodeus had his eyes fixed on his son, seeing how the power of Magnus manifested, how he activated the circle and let the magic of Edom cross him, opening the barrier between the two dimensions. Alec noticed how the portal opened, as that tingling sensation appeared in him. He looked at Magnus and saw how he had approached the edge of the pentagram little by little. Alec didn’t think twice and when he felt the earth opening beneath his feet he grabbed Magnus' hand, feeling his skin burn, the magic rising up to his shoulder and feeling a pain like never before, and pulled him away.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the lovely comments that make me wanna write more and translate even tho I should be in bed by now.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me some time to translate this but I want you to know that I did it because all those lovely comments that were asking for more. Please, let me know what you think!

Alec felt the impact on the ground and for a moment he forgot the intense pain in his arm. His head spun and he noticed how a current of air appeared and disappeared. There was silence followed by a beep that made him close his eyes even harder for a few seconds. Then everything calmed down and he opened them, seeing that he was back in Magnus' loft. At home. He turned and saw that Jace was near trying to get up and that was when he felt a weight on him. It was Magnus. He moved carefully because the pain had returned to his arm but luckily he had no more burned skin. Magnus was unconscious on top of him and Alec shake him carefully.

“Magnus.” But he didn’t answer.

At that moment Jace approached them and went to take the two daggers that were on the ground, because he had never seen anything like that and, from what little he had observed when Magnus had used them, he knew that they were not normal weapons. But when he was going to touch them they disappeared, as well as Magnus' clothes, which again became the torn shirt and the dirty pants in which they had found him.

“Magnus!” Alec shouted, turning him around and making sure he was breathing. He rested his head on his legs and brushed the hair from his face.

Jace knelt beside him and looked at Alec worriedly. Many things had happened that he had no explanation for, but he knew what he had seen, he knew what Magnus was or what he had become, and he knew the Clave would not tolerate someone like him.

“Call Catarina,” said Alec, looking at him with concern and looking back at Magnus.

Jace went to where he had left his cell phone and saw that it was still in place but with numerous missed calls from Izzy and Clary. He searched through the contacts and dialled the number Alec had given him a few days ago in case of an emergency. At the third beep Catarina took it and a few seconds later she entered the room through a portal.

“What happened?” She said, kneeling beside Alec.

“He’s not waking up.” That was all Alec said, because he didn’t know where to start.

Catarina activated her magic and ran her hands over Magnus' body. She frowned and continued to focus.

“What's wrong?” Alec asked, for the gesture had not gone unnoticed.

“It's like there's no magic in him,” said Catarina, still concentrating. “It's strange.”

Alec ran his fingers through Magnus's hair again, trying to calm down. “What can we do?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “Maybe he need rest, maybe in a few hours he’ll wake up.”

“Maybe?!” Alec yelled.

“I don’t know what to do!” Said Catarina, who stopped using her magic on Magnus and looked at the young man. “I don’t know what happened but what I do know is that Magnus shouldn’t be alive. No warlock can survive when they have their magic completely depleted. I've never seen something like that.”

Alec looked back at Magnus and touched his neck, noticing his pulse. Making sure he was still alive.

“Maybe he need rest,” he said, repeating the warlock’s words, trying to relax a bit.

Catarina looked at him and Alec knew she was waiting for an answer, an explanation, but instead she took his hand, completely burned, and began to heal him. The skin was slowly returning to its natural color, the ligaments coming together, and Alec began to notice relief for the first time. It wasn’t until there was only the remains of a second-degree burn in a state of healing when the silence broke.

“I know what has burned you,” said Catarina. She got up and looked at Jace. “Take Magnus to bed,” she said, and the blond knew it was an order.

Carefully Jace took Magnus from Alec's arms and nodded to his parabatai, promising him wordlessly that he would take care of him. When there was no one else in the room than Alec, Catarina broke the silence.

“I want you to tell me what happened and I want you to not leave any details out.” Her voice was hard, holding back emotions, making it clear that Alec had only one option and that was being honest with her.

Alec told her everything and Catarina asked some questions from time to time, but when Alec finished the story she closed her eyes and leaned back on the sofa.

“No one should know,” she said without opening her eyes.

“I know,” Alec replied.

“The blond…”

“He won’t say anything.” For Alec knew what the warlock was talking about.

Catarina nodded. “He'd better.” And Alec knew that was a threat, but for some reason he didn’t feel he had to protect Jace from her.

“What happened?” Alec said, for he had the impression that Catarina knew something he didn’t know.

Catarina clicked her fingers and a bottle of beer appeared at her side. She took a sip and started talking without looking at Alec, fixed at a point in the painting in front of her.

“Warlock are born from the union of demons and humans. There is much that can be said about it but at the end of the day it’s that simple. Our father is a demon with the ability to shape itself into a human and rape a woman, hence our human appearance and our marks. But it wasn’t always like this.”

Catarina took another sip and Alec looked at her with more interest, for although Magnus had told him something similar he had never spoken of the subject as clearly as the warlock. And now that he thought about it, he didn’t know about the origin of warlocks, no further than the lies that the Clave had told him all his life.

“In the beginning, before the demons existed, before their blood was mixed with humans, giving rise to vampires and lycanthropes, before the creation of shadowhunters, before the Earth were the one we know now, the War of Angels happened. After the war, the followers of Lucifer sought asylum in kingdoms that over time would become the seven kingdoms of Hell and they would become the personification of the seven deadly sins.” Catarina stopped and looked at Alec, making sure that the young nephilim was still listening and wasn’t going to preach to her with some nephilim propaganda, but Alec hadn’t lost any detail of a single word. “It was then that the Fallen Angels mixed themselves with humans and the first race of warlocks was created.”

Alec nodded, because something told him that Catarina needed his confirmation, she needed to know that he was believing what she was telling him, even if it was against everything he had been taught as a child.

“It wasn’t until later that Lilith and the Fallen Angels began to create the creatures we know as demons, creatures that would breed another race of warlocks, the one that exists today.”

“You,” said Alec.

“Me,” said Catarina.

“But Magnus isn’t like you.” It wasn’t a question.

Catarina shared her head.

“Tell me, Alec, how much do you know about the creation of the Nephilim?”

“Jonathan called the Angel Raziel to ask for help in the face of the massacre that the demons were doing on Earth and he gave him to drink of his blood, creating our race,” he recited from memory, as he had done on innumerable occasions as a child.

Catarina smiled bitterly and Alec knew that his answer wasn’t entirely correct.

“And how did Jonathan call the Angel Raziel?”

Alec didn’t know what to answer, because he had never asked himself that, he had always taken it for granted. They had taught him not as something to question but as something to believe.

“I don’t know,” he said, ashamed of having spent all those years without realizing his ignorance.

“Only someone with angelic blood can summon an Angel,” Catarina replied.

“But there were no Shadowhunters…” Alec didn’t have to finish his sentence to realize it. “It was a warlock. One of the first, of those born by the Fallen Angels.”

Catarina nodded. “It was later when the Fallen Angels, or by then, Mayor Demons, realized that their progeny were different: more powerful, purer, a mixture between Heaven, Hell, and humanity. Beings that if they united, if they trained their power, they could be a threat. So they started killing them and absorbing their power. And those who weren’t taken to the kingdoms of their fathers were put to death by Shadowhunters.”

“Why?” Asked Alec, who noticed how his whole world was changing under his feet. “If they were part human, and they had angelic blood, why kill them?”

“Because his parents were Fallen Angels, Alec. Because they could summon Angels and Demons, because they could travel between realms, because they carried the fire of Hell running through their veins.” Catarina's voice was slightly altered, remembering all those centuries ago when she had helped Magnus look for his origins, all that she had learned that she had never told her friend, everything she and Ragnor had always suspected but had never wanted to confirm.

Alec looked at his slightly burned hand and realized that if he needed another proof, that was the final one.

“Is there more like him?” Alec asked.

“I don’t know,” said Catarina.

Alec nodded.

“Alec, the Clave... if they find out…”

“They must know, or they must have known at some point. This can't be new.”

“If they knew it they buried it and that's the way it should be. No one should know that someone like Magnus walks the Earth. The last time something like this happened…”

“Has something like this happened before?”

“Not like this,” said Catarina. “Different but new, something the Clave couldn’t explain, something they didn’t want to accept.”

“What?” Alec said because he needed to know.

“It's not my story or my secret.”

And Alec knew that Catarina wasn’t going to say anymore.

“With luck, Magnus will come to his senses in a few hours. He needs to recover his magic.”

“If not?”

“You call me,” she said, getting up. “There’s nothing more I can do.”

Alec nodded and got up with her.

“Take care of him,” said the woman, grabbing him by the shoulder. Alec nodded. “Any change you call me.” Alec nodded again. Catarina turned around, opened a portal and disappeared.

“I don’t know about you but I have more questions now than before.”

Alec turned around surprised and looked at Jace, who was leaning on a pillar.

“How much have you heard?”

“Everything,” he said. Both were silent looking at each other intensely and after a few seconds, Jace raised his hands in a sign of surrender. “I’m not going to say anything.”

“You better,” said Alec.

Jace smiled at his brother's tone and approached him slowly. “This changes many things.”

“It doesn’t change anything,” said Alec.

“Alec…”

“No.” He denied. “Magnus is still Magnus, whoever his father is or the blood he has doesn’t change who he is. You more than anyone should know that.”

Jace stopped and lowered his hands. Alec was right.

“I’m going to the Institute, talk to Izzy and Clary,” he said, changing the subject. “Tell them we're fine.”

Alec nodded without moving.

“Call if you need anything,” said Jace, approaching and touching his shoulder, trying to reach him. Alec nodded but couldn’t help the tremor that passed through his body. Jace noticed and hugged him tightly. Alec breathed easier and embraced Jace as if his life depended on it, noticing how something inside him improved as if it was easier to breathe.

“It's going to be okay. Everything will be fine.” Jace said and Alec wanted to believe him.

***

It was not until later when Alec had changed Magnus out of clothes and cleaned him as best he could; after taking a shower and putting on comfortable clothes and sitting on his side of the bed, running his fingers through Magnus' hair, when he began to notice. At first, they were like small sparks in the fingers, small electric currents that made Alec unconsciously move the hand away from the warlock’s head, but then it started to grow and Alec had to get out of bed so that the rays of magical energy that were leaving Magnus didn’t hurt him. He picked up the phone and called Catarina.

“What's wrong?” She asked, sleep in her voice.

“I think his magic is coming back but... there's something wrong with it.”

“Wrong how?” Catarina's tone more awake now.

“Hostile,” Alec said because he didn’t know how to describe it in any other way. “It has started to come out of him, like an electric current, and when it’s touched me it hurt me.”

“How much has it hurt you?”

“Nothing serious, but it's not like before… Normally his magic doesn’t hurt me, it has never hurt me.”

“What color is it?”

“Blue intense. Almost black.”

There were a few seconds of silence in which Alec heard Catarina breath.

“Alec, I want you out of the room and away from the door. I 'm coming.”

“What? I'm not going to leave him alone.” But at that moment the magic left Magnus, who moved in the bed by force, and hit the wall, breaking a piece of it a few meters from Alec.

Catarina heard it. “Alec, get out of there. He's out of control. Leave!”

Alec walked back, watching as the magic grew and grew, engulfing his boyfriend and causing him to move in spasms. Alec wanted to help, wanted to hug him, but he was following Catarina's advice. He moved away little by little, noticing how more rays were coming out of Magnus and destroying things around him, how the apartment was too hot.

He noticed Catarina behind him and let go of the phone. The warlock was in her pajamas and her hands were raised, creating a protective barrier between them.

“What are you doing?”

“Prevent his magic from destroying the apartment and us,” she said through clenched teeth, for Magnus' magic was growing more and more.

“There has to be a way to make him stop.”

“Which one?” There was sarcasm in Catarina's voice but also weariness. “That magic is older and more powerful than mine. That of any warlock I know.” A wave hit Catarina's shield and she moved her hands harder, reinforcing it. “Magnus has spent too much time repressing it. I told him that something like this would happen.” Alec imagined that those words were not addressed to him, but he couldn’t help but think of something. That magic wasn’t something strange, but something that had always been in Magnus.

“Is that his magic?” Asked Alec “His magic has always been blue in its neutral state.”

“He’s being dominated by his demonic part,” Catarina said with effort. Her celestial blue magic coming out of her hands.

“I thought his magic was always demonic.”

“It's not the time for a class, Alec,” Catarina said being pushed by another wave. “Get out of here, I don’t know how much longer I can contain it.”

But an idea occurred to Alec. And, even though he knew it was crazy, he couldn’t stop thinking that there was logic in his plan.

“Let me in,” he said. “I can help.”

“Are you crazy? You will die if you try.”

“I know what I'm doing,” he said more confidently than he really was.

“You don´t! You have no idea what you're doing.” She refuted. “You’re a presumptuous Nephilim who thinks that because you have dated a warlock for a couple of months you’re an expert in our race. You know nothing! Magnus is out of control and if I let his escape magic, it’ll destroy us.”

 _It's their nature._ Aldertree's words came back to his mind.

“He’ll destroy us anyway,” he said with the same anger in his voice. “Sooner or later the alarm will sound at the Institute, such a large amount of energy won’t go unnoticed by our radars, and then they’ll come. And they won’t hesitate to put the law into practice and kill him.”

“And you won't?” Catarina asked for it was not the first time that a shadowhunter had disappointed her and she didn’t intend to risk her best friend's life by relying on that boy's word.

“I love him,” said Alec. “Let me save him.”

Catarina wanted to answer something, but changed her mind and opened the barrier, protecting herself. The rays soon came out destroying what was in their path and Magnus was suspended in the air, convulsing. Alec went to meet him, trying to avoid the lightning as best he could until he reached him.

“Magnus!” He said when he approached, but Magnus didn’t answer. Alec climbed onto the bed and noticed how the magic touched him, hurting him but leaving no mark. He swallowed and touched Magnus. He felt a strong pain, saw how the magic began to get tangled in his arm, like a snake, rising slowly. He grabbed Magnus and took him, surrounding him with his arms, trying to use his body as a shield between the warlock and the apartment. Magic rose through him, wounding his nerve endings. Alec leaned his forehead against Magnus' and breathed, leaving his mind blank, concentrating on his energy.

It was painful, and there was a moment where he thought he was going to die, that it was the end, but he didn’t let go of Magnus, holding him tight so that his spasms were less severe, concentrating on that magic he knew so well and at the same time was so new to him He had never felt it out of control, until that moment he had never thought that Magnus' magic could hurt him, but maybe it was because he had felt it differently before. He had felt it in his skin, in his body, in different ways and occasions. Catarina was right in that he didn’t know anything about warlocks, but he knew Magnus, he knew he was one with his magic. He had felt it when he had healed him, when he had summoned demons, when he casted spells, and when he had traveled his skin little by little, filling him with a pleasure he had never felt before. He knew Magnus's energy, for he had mixed it with his more than once after saving Luke. There was nothing that Alec didn’t know about Magnus's magic, so he let it reach his brain, merging it with his energy. He noticed how he began to lose consciousness and thought about them, when he had seen Magnus' eyes for the first time, how beautiful he was, how much he loved him. And he let his soul merge with Magnus’, losing consciousness and falling on the bed while still hugging the warlock.

To be continue…


	7. Chapter 7

He opened his eyes and noticed that something wasn’t right. It took him a few seconds to realize that he couldn’t feel his body. Everything was white around him. He looked at his hands and they were there, but he didn’t feel anything. He breathed and thought about where he could be and what had happened. It was then that he remembered Magnus, the attack by his magic out of control, of him hugging the warlock to prevent it from growing as it had happened in Edom. He remembered Edom and thought for a moment that he had died and that perhaps he was in the afterlife.

“Magnus!” He cried desperately. “Magnus!”

But nobody answered his call. He began to walk through the immense nothingness hoping not to meet an Angel or someone to tell him he had died. He couldn’t die, not without knowing if Magnus was going to be fine.

He ran but there was no end to the white immensity. He shouted back his boyfriend’s name and saw a figure in the distance. For a moment he was afraid to approach it, but he needed answers. He went with a determined step towards it and realized that it wasn’t an adult or an Angel, but a child. His hair was black like a crow's wing and he was dressed in clothes that Alec hadn’t seen before. He approached him and saw how the child looked at his hands. He knelt and it was then that he could see his face and notice his cat's eyes.

“Magnus,” he said carefully because even though he knew those eyes, he didn’t know what he was facing.

“I can’t stop it,” said the boy trying not to cry.

It was then that Alec realized the magic in Magnus’ hands. Black strips surrounding their natural blue magic.

Something inside him told him not to touch him, that it was dangerous. But he ignored that feeling just as he had ignored it before. Carefully he try looking the little hands of the child, but he pushed away

“No.” He said hiding his hands. “It will hurt you.”

Alec realized that Magnus didn’t seem to recognize him.

“It will not hurt me,” he said sweetly, as when talking to any other children. The boy looked at him and Alec smiled. “Trust me.”

Magnus seemed to think about it but in the end, he stretched out his arms. Alec put his hands together and let the magic touch his fingers, noticing the small pangs of pain.

“You have to learn to control it,” Alec said, not knowing where he was or what was happening, but he knew he had to help Magnus. “It's part of you.”

“It's bad,” said the boy. “It does bad things.”

Alec nodded and remembered the night Magnus had told him how he had killed his stepfather and wondered if Magnus had been that small when it happened; if the image in front of him was a replica of that night.

“I know. But it also does very good things.”

The boy looked at him with wide eyes, dilated pupils. “But I don’t want to be bad. I don’t want... I don’t want to be a monster.”

Alec knew he couldn’t feel his body, but he felt his heart stop.

“You are not a monster.” He took the child's hands tenderly and waited for the child to calm down. “Your magic is part of you. It’s wonderful, capable of extraordinary things.”

Magnus looked at him without believing what he said. Alec thought he needed another way to get to him.

“Magnus, do you see the blue energy strips? You have to concentrate and make all your magic be like that.”

“Why?”

“Because that will make you feel better. Trust me.”

The boy looked at him and Alec knew that look. He couldn’t help but smile. There were things that time didn’t change.

“Do you trust me?” He asked with a smile.

The boy nodded.

“Concentrate and think of something cheerful.”

“Like what?” Magnus asked and Alec didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know if Magnus was stuck in his childhood, but what he didn’t want to think about was that as a child he had not had any happy memories because it was too painful.

“Can I think of you?” The boy asked innocently and Alec looked at him in surprise, coming out of his stupor. “You give me peace.”

Alec nodded with a lump in his throat and watched as Magnus closed his eyes and concentrated. The magic began to change and little by little it changed color until everything was almost blue. Magnus opened his eyes and smiled, proud of having almost succeeded, but at that moment the magic exploded, throwing Alec through the air and away from the child.

“Magnus!” He screamed again when he was able to get up, but everything was white again around him.

He walked to where he had left the child but there was no one. He searched the white immensity but saw nothing. It was not until seconds later when he noticed how he was pushed to the ground. He didn’t have time to get up because a hand grabbed his arm and twisted it, pressing his face to the ground.

“Who are you?” Said a voice that he knew very well but didn’t have the warmth and strength to which he was accustomed. It sounded young, hurried.

“Alec,” he said, relaxing his body because he knew he had nothing to fear. “You know me.”

“I don’t remember meeting any Shadowhunter.” Magnus didn’t let go of his arm and Alec could feel Magnus stick his other hand to the ground next to his head. His magic blacker than when he saw him as a child.

“You will know me,” said Alec, who thought he would have to face different moments of Magnus' life before finding his own. “In the future.” He said to clarify. He didn’t know how much to say because he couldn’t understand very well the situation he was in. But if he had to know each version of Magnus he would.

“What do you want?” He asked without letting go of Alec's arm and he had to breathe so as not to get rid of the grip, because now he could feel his body perfectly and it hurt.

“I want you to relax,” he said shaking his head and wanting to see that version of Magnus, but he couldn’t see more than a mop of black hair longer than he was used to. “Can you let me go?”

“How do I know you will not attack me?”

“You'll have to trust me,” Alec replied.

A few seconds later he felt the pressure give way and he moved his arm carefully, turning around and looking at those golden eyes that he knew so well. Magnus was still on top of him, ready to defend himself in case of an attack, but that was the last thing Alec had in mind.

Magnus as a boy had been adorable, but there was nothing cute about Magnus as a teenager. Alec didn’t know how old he would be, but he couldn’t be older than Clary. His half-length hair was half tied with a ponytail, his clothes loose and rough. A strange, very rudimentary necklace hung from his neck and there was a fairly recent scar on his throat, no doubt made by a rope. Alec's stomach churned at the thought of what might have happened to Magnus at that age to have that mark.

“You say that you’ll know me, but you haven’t said why,” said Magnus, who was looking at him with a certain arrogance.

“Does it matter?” Alec tried to lean back and Magnus left him, sitting on the floor in front of him. Alec imitated him, seeing how his hands followed the active magic in them. The darkness more and more present.

“What do you want from me?” Magnus asked.

“I want you to relax.” Alec repeated again. He noticed Magnus' eyes and couldn’t help thinking what would have happened if he had known him like this, more or less his own age. It was strange to have in front of him the adolescent version that one day would become the man he loved. “For you to control your magic.”

“Why do you want me to control it?” Magnus' voice aggressive. Alec understood that whatever time it was, Magnus' magic was a delicate subject. “I can do whatever I want with it. I can create and destroy.”

There was something dark in Magnus's voice, something different from what he was used to.

“Is that what you want? Use it to destroy?”

“Why not? After all, they want to hunt me down. Why wouldn’t I use it to defend myself?” Magnus' words made his magic with increasingly black touches grow, surrounding his arms and climbing them.

“Who wants to kill you?” For although Alec didn’t want to know about Magnus' life if he didn’t wanted to tell him, he couldn’t help but worry. Especially given the way Magnus had spoken.

“Everyone.” Magnus answered honestly. “People like you, with runes on their skin. People like me.” Magnus looked at his hands and frowned. “They say I'm an abomination.”

Alec's heart sank again and, even knowing that he shouldn’t, he took Magnus' hands, feeling the stings of pain. “You are not an abomination.”

Magnus looked at him surprised and went to answer but something changed in him. His pupils narrowed and the blackness grew around his iris. Alec noticed how he held his hands tightly and felt pain. When Magnus spoke it was not his voice, but a mixture between his and his father's.

“Your purpose is useless,” Magnus said without blinking. “Sooner or later he will succumb and, when that happens, his human part, like you, will die.”

Alec tried to get rid of Magnus' hands, knowing that it was Asmodeus who spoke for him, but he couldn’t. Magnus' face slowly transformed, his veins turning black, his skin burning, transforming into a demonic being. Alec tried to break free, tried to scream, but couldn’t do anything but notice the pain in his skin, watch as his boyfriend became the monster that he had always been told he was.

***

Alec opened his eyes and found the endless white world. He felt tired, as if he hadn’t slept well. He stood up and started walking, hoping to find another version of Magnus. When he met him, his hair was shorter, he wore better quality clothes, his eyes were lost on the floor and his hands were stained with blood. Alec breathed and went to him, knowing that he would face as many versions of Magnus as needed to get to his.

***

Magnus couldn’t control it. He didn’t know where he was, he only saw white around him, but he knew he couldn’t be anywhere physically. He felt his magic under his skin in a strange way, like when he had been in Edom, but now it was different, he didn’t want to let go, he didn’t want it to happen as it had been then, when his whole being had changed and he had become the son his father had always wanted.

He looked at his hands and saw how his magic was getting darker. He breathed and tried to go to that place in his mind that Ragnor had taught him. He tried to meditate but a scream broke his concentration. He turned and saw Alec walk towards him. He looked extremely tired, but he didn’t stop walking. Magnus ran to meet him just in time to catch him in his arms, as his legs gave way, causing both of them to end up on their knees on the ground.

“Magnus,” Alec said cautiously. More a question than an affirmation.

“Alexander. What are you doing here?”

Magnus watched as Alec smiled and worried. Alec couldn’t be there. It must have been a product of his imagination. But Alec's weight was real, as was the energy he felt in touching him.

“I found you.” That was all Alec said.

Magnus leaned better on the ground, leaning Alec against his chest. They both breathed for a few seconds. It was then that Magus realized that he didn’t know how they had gotten where they were.

“What happened?” He asked.

Alec moved slightly in his arms. “What is the last thing you remember?”

Magnus made an effort and remembered Alec telling him that his place was at his side. His eyes.

“Edom. Creating the portal.”

Alec nodded but Magnus couldn’t see his smile of relief at hearing those words.

“We came back home. But you didn’t wake up. Catarina said it was because there was no magic in you and maybe you should rest.” Magnus looked at Alec and saw his eyes, the fatigue that was in him. “At midnight you started convulsing, your magic went free, but not the usual one, but black. As…”

“As in Edom.” Magnus finished, knowing that Alec had just confirmed his fears.

“You were out of control, Magnus. But you didn’t wake up.” There was anguish in Alec's voice.

“What happened? How have we ended up here?”

“I don’t know what it is here, but the last thing I remember was hugging you.”

Magnus looked at him and Alec moved to look at Magnus.

“I thought if I touched you I could get you to control the magic. That if you noticed my energy…”

“Alexander, tell me you didn’t open your energy when I was out of control.” For Magnus feared where they were if that had happened.

“I thought…”

“You didn’t think!” Magnus shouted, noticing how his magic was growing little by little without him being able to do anything. Alec moved in his arms, leaning back.

“Magnus, you must calm down,” he said, unperturbed by his change of mood.

“Do you know what you've done?” Magnus said in the same angry tone. “You have signed your death sentence, Alec.”

“Magnus…” Alec raised his hands and touched Magnus' face, worried that he didn’t call him by his full name. “Everything will be fine. You just have to control it.”

Magnus didn’t know that his eyes were shining with that fire that ran through his veins, because Alec's face was none other than love. He wasn’t aware that his magic was going up his arms, turning his veins black little by little. But he could feel the power as if he were standing on tiptoes looking into an abyss and wanted to let himself fall. Falling was so easy. He didn’t have to do anything, just let gravity work.

“Magnus.”

Magnus noticed Alec and noticed how he stepped back into that abyss in his mind.

“It's part of you.” Alec's voice sweet. He took his hands and saw the warlock’s veins, his magic, in what he was transforming.

“I have always feared that this day would come,” said Magnus, knowing that he couldn’t ignore reality, not when their souls were trapped in a plane of reality that was gradually being consumed. Alec had gone through something like this when he had looked for Jace, but this was different because now he had linked his energy to his. And Magnus did not know if he would be able to come back, if he could find his way back now that all his fears had taken shape. “But I've never wanted to drag you along.”

Magnus looked at Alec and saw the trust in his eyes, unconditional love. He didn’t know if he was worthy of it.

“Catarina is out. I don’t know how long it’d have been but I know that soon the alarm will be activated in the Institute and they’ll come.” Alec moved, getting closer to him. “Magnus, you have to control yourself before that happens.”

“I can’t.” Magnus tried to suppress his tears, for he was full of impotence.

“Why?”

Magnus didn’t expect that question and had no answer.

“This magic,” said Alec, raising his hands. “It's yours. It's part of you.”

“It's my darkest part, my demon essence.” Magnus refuted.

Alec breathed heavily before speaking, his tone serious. “Magnus, you're half demon. It's time for you to accept it.”

Magnus opened his eyes to Alec's words. He knew what it was, had known and accepted it many years ago. He didn’t need a young Nephilim to remind him of it.

 _Who are you trying to convince?_ Said a voice in his head that sounded very much like Ragnor's. _Have you really accepted who you are or have you just thought that you have done it?_

“I know who I am. What I am.” Magnus said in a serious voice.

“Well, stop running away from it,” said Alec.

There was a silence in which Magnus measured his words.

“You don’t know what you're asking me.”

“I’m asking you to stop running,” said Alec. “I know what it’s to want to deny who you are, and I know that in the end you have to accept it or it will end up consuming you.”

“It's not the same,” said Magnus.

“It is.” Alec's voice rose, as he was beginning to lose patience. “Magnus. Your father is a Fallen Angel. You are half Fallen Angel. The blood that runs through your veins carries Hellfire. What is it that you find so hard to accept?”

Magnus released his hands and noticed how the magic came from them, how he wanted to burn something. He had never wanted to face that reality, not since he had intuited it. He had always wanted to think that at the end of the day he was like any other warlock. He had ignored the call of his father, of his kingdom. He had learned to contain that part that demanded destruction. That fire that asked him to burn until turning everything into ashes.

“What I can become,” said Magnus, standing up. “You don’t understand anything, you don’t understand what it’s like to feel this fire, this anger, this desire for revenge over a crime that hasn’t been committed to me.” He took a few steps back, watching as Alec didn’t move but didn’t stop looking at him. “There’s a darkness in me that you cannot understand, that you cannot even begin to imagine.”

“Maybe not,” said Alec. “But I know that there is no one with a purer, kinder heart than yours.” Alec stood up with difficulty, keeping his eyes on Magnus. “I know you're not the monster you fear to be.”

“How?” Magnus asked without really believing Alec's words. “There's so much of me that you don’t know. How can you be so sure?”

Alec approached him and although Magnus wanted to get away from Alec he could not. Alec grabbed his hands again and Magnus felt a grimace of pain on the young man's face. He tried to breathe and relax.

“Do you trust me?” Alec asked.

Magnus nodded.

“Well, believe me when I say I've seen enough to know.”

Magnus looked at him in surprise, noticing how Alec's eyes closed, as he began to lean on him. It was then that he remembered what Alec had told him about his experience with the parabatai rune.

“How long have you been here?” He asked, but Alec could not answer him, for he began to fall, losing consciousness, and Magnus soon picked him up, kneeling again.

“Alexander.”

***

“He's dying,” said Catarina, who had Alec's wrist in her hands and was taking his pulse while controlling the Shadowhunter's energy with her magic.

“He has been being linked to him for too long.” The other witch replied. “If Magnus doesn’t come to his senses we will soon lose him.”

“Is there anything we can do?” Catarina asked, looking at her friend and seeing how her white magic passed over Magnus' face.

“I’m afraid not. Everything now depends on Magnus.” Tessa replied.

TBC

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos are great, comments give my life!


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